Noise

Six months were spent planning our family's most glorious vacation to date, and the two weeks we spent together were gone long before we wanted the time to end. We saw some of the most beautiful scenery, ate some of the best food, and spent some of the best time together - away from the noise of our lives - the noise of schedules, computers, obligations, and commitments. I captured our time together with over 500 photos (a little hobby of mine) and plan on turning some of them into art for our home. A daily reminder of the quiet of early morning sunrises and fullness of the love of my family will sustain us until our next get away, except it's going to be difficult to top this one.


The two pictures shown here have significance in the promise I made to myself several months ago - to really start taking care of myself and get rid of some of the unnecessary noise in my life. The first is the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia Park, Maine. Twice, Chris and I rose at 4:00 am to see this breath-taking scene from the summit, and I can tell you it was worth getting this night owl out of bed that early. The second is a chair we encountered on one of our many hikes. The sunrise represents the quiet and beauty we encounter every day, if we would only stop to look at it. The second image represents the quiet and beauty I strive to some day plant myself in the middle of - property overlooking water. Nothing is more peaceful to me than water, and when I'm surrounded by it, it's so easy to be quiet.

Just before I left for our trip, my doctor's office, with baffling urgency, insisted that I complete an ultrasound of my gallbladder. The day before departure, I completed the study as well as some follow-up blood work, only after jumping through some serious scheduling hoops. Since my return, I've called this doctor three times to get the results, which explains why the urgency of the tests were so baffling. I just knew the office would not be quick to communicate with me; and after three extremely frustrating days of phone calls, I finally got "official" results from my doctor's nurse. The conversation went something like this:

"Your vitamin D is on the low end of normal, but within the acceptable range. Your cholesterol is at an acceptable level. The ultrasound showed gallstones (which the technician told me the day of the test, so I was not surprised at all). You need to call your general surgeon and talk to him about having this taken care of," nurse lady said. Now this did surprise me. 

"Really?" I asked. "Who has a general surgeon? Is that the kind of doctor people keep in their rolodex? Wouldn't I need to see a GI doctor?"

"No, a general surgeon."

I couldn't help laughing out loud at the absurdity of this whole situation. I asked her to mail me a copy of all the test results (who knows if they are telling me everything). My cholesterol was supposed to improve from increasing exercise and all I've done is decrease my exercise.


Just after the conversation with my doctor's nurse, I had to take Ben to see his precious Dr. Boyle, and as much as the trip to CHOP is not enjoyable for either of us, I was reminded that there are wonderful doctors out there who really do care about their patients. I have no idea what my next steps will be in dealing with a sick gall bladder, but my new doctor is going to be someone I love, someone just like Dr. Boyle. I'll continue avoiding dairy and gluten since it really has helped me feel better (and look a little better, I think); but in the back of my mind, I'm already starting to think...is it possible that I might actually eat brick-oven pizza again? Cooked right in my own back yard!